Before bowing to the inevitable and ordering a Cimex,
I've been trying to max out my Challenger (3/4 h.p.
version) as an encap machine. The standard 13" pad
driver (14" cleaning path) is obviously a limiting
factor for large commercial jobs. I replaced the
standard driver with a 16" driver from an Oreck
LowBoy, and tested it with various pads: hair pad;
FiberPlus pad; and white nylon scrubber with the
green stripes. All worked pretty nicely, and the
machine still handled well.
Next I tried attaching three Cimex-type 7 3/4"
plywood discs to the LowBoy driver, glued on some
velcro, and tried it this way, with hair pads only.
Not so good. Very hard to handle. Thought I was going
to invent the orbital Cimex, but not this time.
My last experiment was with a 19" bristle-type pad
driver, which I bolted to the LowBoy driver. Very
difficult to handle with all of the above-mentioned
pads.
Just wondering if anyone else has tried to increase
the potential of a Challenger, CCS, or LowBoy as an
encapper.

Mark Dullea

I am not one to try and reinvent the wheel, we just use fiberplus pads with the OP machine for small areas, and do not think anything will out clean the Cimex machine.

I started useing my RX-20 with a pad driver after winterfest back in Jan. I done a good job in small areas, and on bigger jobs but slow. But i saw enough use to buy a Cimex best move i've made, i still use thr rx in some places. What the Cimex saves in time is well worth it.

My round Orbitec has a 1/4" polycarbonate with velcro as a drive plate, so I change from a 13" to a larger size at times.
You can use the polycarbonate with the Challenger, just screw onto the bottom of the Challenger pad driver.
If you want a little more weight on thoes commercial jobs, you can use ankle weights, link two together and strap around the motor, they won't scratch the paint or make noise.